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Sacrifice
'Sacrifice ' The theme of sacrifice is a very common notion depicted in many fantasy novels. Its main objective is to make a story credible and gripping at the same time, but also to reach the readers with a certain message. Its popularity, especially in J.K. Rowling’s books is due in part to the loving relationships between the characters, and the loyalty towards each other. Sacrifice is the most visible theme in Harry Potter books. To be specific, the sacrifice of love has the power to defeat the Curse of Death. The journey which Harry, Ron and Hermione go through from the start, is imprinted by a prophecy that Harry must fulfil in order to defeat Lord Voldemort. In the first book, The Philosopher’s Stone, Voldemort cannot touch Harry because of the protection of Lily Potter’s loving sacrifice: “Your mother died to save you. If there’s one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realise that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign…to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection for ever. It is in your very skin. Quirell, full of hatred and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good.” – Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone, p. 216) The reason for Harry’s protection from Voldemort is also mentioned by Hagrid, as he is introducing Harry to the magical world for the very first time: “Most of us recon he’s still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. ‘Cause somethin’ about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin’ goin’ on that night he hadn’t counted on- I dunno what it was, no one does- but somethin’ about you stumped him, all right.”(Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone, p. 47) Hagrid plays a specific role of both- a messenger and Harry’s loyal friend, who stands by him throughout the series, and functions as the first prove of Harry’s belonging to the wizards’ world. In The Goblet of Fire, Harry loses his protection from Lilly, when Lord Voldemort uses his blood to return in the flesh. This presumably symbolic ritual, and Voldemort’s ignorance, results in The Dark Lord’s downfall in the seventh book: “"He said my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's," Harry told Dumbledore. "He said the protection my - my mother left in me - he'd have it too. And he was right - he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face.” (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, p. 449) In The Order of the Phoenix, Harry is unaware of the danger he’s in after the encounter with Voldemort in the fourth book. He becomes even more vulnerable, therefore Lord Voldemort gains an incredibly easy access to his mind in order to control him. He’s able to possess Harry, as Lilly’s blood no longer offers him protection. Once again, Harry is able to save himself, by using the Power the Dark Lord Knows Not, which is the power of love: “Let the pain stop, thought Harry... let him kill us... end it, Dumbledore... death is nothing compared to this...And I’ll see Sirius again...And as Harry’s heart filled with emotion, the creature’s coils loosened, the pain was gone; Harry was lying face down on the floor, his glasses gone, shivering as though he lay upon ice, not wood...” (Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, p.611) Harry’s friends, Ron and Hermione are also ready to make a sacrifice, and stand by Harry in every situation. In The Philosopher’s Stone, when the game of chess is played, Ron believes that the only way to pass through is to sacrifice his own life to save his friends: “We’re nearly there,” he muttered suddenly. “Let me think—let me think…” The white queen turned her blank face toward him. “Yes…” said Ron softly, “it’s the only way…I’ve got to be taken.” “NO!” Harry and Hermione shouted. “That’s chess!” snapped Ron. “You’ve got to make some sacrifices!” (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone, p.283) Another wonderful moment is shown when the trio are planning their night trip to save the Stone from Voldemort: ‘I’ll use the Invisibility Cloak,’ said Harry. ‘It’s just lucky I got it back.’ ‘But will it cover all three of us?’ said Ron. ‘All – all three of us?’ ‘Oh, come off it, you don’t think we’d let you go alone?’ ‘Of course not,’ said Hermione briskly. ‘How do you think you’d get to the Stone without us? I’d better go and look through my books, there might be something useful ...’ (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone, p.201) Ron is ready to sacrifice himself in order to allow Harry finding professor Quirell and prevent him from obtaining the philosopher’s stone. Harry’s friends immediately understand the importance of teamwork and see the advantages of working together against the dark forces. Although Harry mistakenly takes professor Snape as Voldemort’s supporter, he clearly expresses his willingness to make a sacrifice for the common good: ‘SO WHAT?’ Harry shouted. ‘Don’t you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort’s coming back! Haven’t you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won’t be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He’ll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn’t matter any more, can’t you see? D’you think he’ll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor win the House Cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I’ll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there. It’s only dying a bit later than I woul have done, because I’m never going over to the Dark Side! I’m going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?”(Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone, p.197) Another remark about Harry’s protection is made by Dumbledore’s as he mentions the ultimate blood protection from Lilly and the use of ancient magic for this purpose: “But I knew, too, where Voldemort was weak. And so I made my decision. You would be protected by an ancient magic of which he knows, which he despises, and which he has always, therefore, underestimated - to his cost. I am speaking, of course, of the fact that your mother died to save you. She gave you a lingering protection he never expected, a protection that flows in your veins to this day. I put my trust, therefore, in your mother’s blood. I delivered you to her sister, her only remaining relative.” (Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, p. 625) While taking account on Lilly Potter’s protection, professor Dumbledore reminds Harry, that he can also find a shelter in his uncle and aunt’s house, as long as he calls it his home. The protection he received from his mother is closely connected to the ancient magic which involves the use of blood of the protector over the person being saved. That is why Harry’s aunt who shares blood with her sister Lilly, is the only remaining guardian of her nephew. Dumbledore again reminds Harry, what a great role she plays in his life: “I delivered you to her sister, her only remaining relative.” “She doesn’t love me,” said Harry at once. “She doesn’t give a damn -” “But she took you,” Dumbledore cut across him. “She may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, bitterly, yet still she took you, and in doing so, she sealed the charm I placed upon you. Your mother’s sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you.”(Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, p. 625) The power of sacrifice in Harry Potter series continuously appears in each of the books, and expresses the same notion, which is battling for the common good. The theme wonderfully flows through each of Harry’s adventures, and in the seventh book, it ends Harry’s struggles, as finally, he sacrifices his life in order to defeat Voldemort: “Finally, the truth. Lying with his face pressed into the dusty carpet of the office where he had once thought he was learning the secrets of victory, Harry understood at last that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to walk calmly into Death’s welcoming arms. Along the way, he was to dispose of Voldemort’s remaining links to life, so that when at last he flung himself across Voldemort’s path, and did not raise a wand to defend himself, the end would be clean, and the job that ought to have been done in Godric’s Hollow would be finished: Neither would live, neither could survive (…) Like rain on a cold window, these thoughts pattered against the hard surface of the incontrovertible truth, which was that he must doe. I must die. It must end.”(Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, p.691- 693).